Why Gen Z is Quietly Giving Up
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 14 พ.ค. 2024
- Why is Gen Z so depressed? And why is Gen Z quietly giving up?
In this thought-provoking video essay, we'll dive deep into the challenges faced by Gen Z in the Internet Age. From the adoption of smartphones to the loss of traditional metanarratives and to the distortion caused by the digital realm, we'll explore why this generation is grappling with unprecedented feelings of hopelessness.
In this video, I lean heavily on the work of Dr. Jean Twenge, Professor of Psychology at San Diego State University. Her book "Generations" is based on twenty-four datasets, some of which go back to the 1940s. They assess children, adolescents, and adults and include a staggering total of 39 million people. Nearly all of the datasets are nationally representative, meaning that respondents resemble the whole population in terms of gender, race/ethnicity, age, socioeconomic status, and region of the country. Most of the data is from the U.S., but other datasets were collected in countries around the world.
If you're interested in Dr. Twenge's work or learning more about Gen Z, I've left a link to all my sources below!
▬▬ Video Chapters ▬▬
0:00 Introduction
1:05 Chapter 1: The Problem
3:11 Why Smartphones?
5:17 Chapter 2.1: Beans
8:00 Chapter 2.2 Broken Promises
13:22 Chapter 2.3: A Bigger World
16:21 Chapter 3: A (Potential) Solution
19:26 Be Here Now
▬▬ Sources ▬▬
1. "Generations: The Real Differences Between Gen Z, Millennials, Gen X, Boomers, and Silents-and What They Mean for America's Future" by Jean M. Twenge amzn.to/469GiXQ
2. "Gen Z" by XYZ University (Sarah Sladek and Alyx Grabinger)
www.xyzuniversity.com/wp-cont...
3. "Gen Z, Explained: The Art of Living in a Digital Age" by Roberta Katz amzn.to/469GiXQ
4. "Generation Z is Waging a Battle Against Depression, Addiction and Hopelessness" by the Walton Family Foundation
www.waltonfamilyfoundation.or...
5. "Stress in America, Generation Z" by the American Psychological Association www.apa.org/news/press/releas...
6. www.theguardian.com/world/202...
7. • China’s Slacker Youths...
8. • Surviving China's high...
9. • How IBM quietly pushed...
10. • IBM 1993: The Biggest ...
11. "Mobile phone ownership over time" by Pew Research Center www.pewresearch.org/internet/...
12. qz.com/work/1663731/mass-layo...
13. "Displaced Workers: Trends in the 1980s and Implications for the Future" by the United States Congressional Budget Office www.cbo.gov/sites/default/fil...
14. "The Disposable American" by Louis Uchitelle amzn.to/3SI5HEW
15. "Nihilism (The MIT Press Essential Knowledge series)" by Nolen Gertz amzn.to/49BrjIP
▬▬ Socials ▬▬
@ameercorro
WEBSITE - ameercorro.com/
INSTAGRAM - / ameercorro
FACEBOOK - / ameercorromusic
SPOTIFY - open.spotify.com/artist/1H5Ps...
ITUNES - / ameer-corro
▬▬ Music Credits ▬▬
www.epidemicsound.com
www.musicbed.com
Hey everyone, thanks so much for watching :) This topic means a lot to me and it’s something I've wanted to explore for a really long time.
Please keep in mind that I’m not a formally-trained philosophy scholar, so I’m aware there may be gaps or oversimplifications in how I define and explain these philosophical concepts. This video is specifically for those of us who, like myself, don’t necessarily have a formal background in philosophy. It aims to be an easy-to-digest, subjective take on Gen Z for those who might not be familiar with these topics. So to all the Lyotard, Derrida, and Baudrillard buffs out there, thank you for your patience!
If you have your own insights to contribute to the discussion, please share them below! I’m all ears for correction and constructive criticism. Thanks again for being here :)
C'est toi vantoan celui qui joue du piano en public et qui a l'oreille absolue ??
If this is the beggining Era where everybody spends time online , Game-Developers/ment and 3D Animators will rule this, and the next generation.
you have a really nice voice
Good job can't get any better than this.
The illusion of freedom is the biggest problem. People are less free than ever but given the illusion of freedom. One of the biggest problems is free people who go take selfies everywhere. I think selfies are the true problem. It wasn't phones as much as it was phones with front facing cameras.
Now people just want to see themselves on their phone. Now after covid the national parks n USA are being too busy. People trampling the plants, poisoning the wildlife, throwing garbage everywhere. Just to get those trendy selfies.
The solution is ban forward facing cameras? Make cell phones phones again
This video avoids discussing the elephant in the room, increasing poverty. Young people are stuck in debt, on low salaries which do not allow them to purchase a humble home and sniffing flowers and meditation will do nothing to solve their economic woes. In fact, it does the opposite, it encourages them to accept the status quo without complaining or demanding a fairer economic system from our government, banks and corporations. The 'just meditate and you'll be fine' is simply not fine. Gen Z and everyone who cares about them will need to demand better from our leaders. Encouraging young people to do nothing to improve their economic situation is actually a way of mentally neutering them.
THIS^
The end of the video was one gigantic COPE
100% this! Any video on this topic not addressing this issue is clown shoes level terrible! They're hopeless because they know the American dream is DEAD and not really a possibility for them!
It's also from a very US experience and Eurocentric perspective. People need to rebuild communities and advance struggles against the economic exploitation of the landed and capitalist classes against those who work for a wage, regardless of income. A new world is possible, get organised!
🚩
This would be the same young people that made Apple executives filthy rich so they can raise prices in California making it unlivable for anyone not super rich.
So well said.
the world rly did end in 2012
yup, we are on overtime at this point.
I knew the Mayans were right. I said it before the world doesn't end just like that it ends slowly and 2012 was the start of the decline.
It's be actually better if it ended upruptly, that means we can see and fight the problem, a slow decay is harder to detect and way way more painful. Apocalypse was playing 4D chess.
And yet I was born in 2011, Im 13 and I have dealt with a lot, and my dream job is president, because I WANT CONTROL and I WANT TO HELP, but… idk if I can do it… the world might be too big…
@@jimx45it’s not apocalypse, it’s the new world order. It’s only 4D chess if your worldview is severely limited.
@@oahts5906 agreed.
we are going towards the dystopia described in Admirable New World + 1984.
Well, the depressing thing isn't wishing for all the things others have in the internet. It's depressing to just wish for what your parents had and being unable to reach that, despite trying harder than they ever had to.
It's depressing for them too. It's a parent's dream to see their children living comfortably, to be successful.
@@SupraSav I'm not so sure about that. I think there's a very large portion of parents who have been so caught up in their own personal successes, or failures, and generational trauma, that seeing their children succeed makes them feel inadequate. There are far too many parents who had kids because they felt they *should* rather than because they *wanted to.* It resulted in either resentful parents, or parents who treat their kids like accessories. Children became extensions of their own lives, instead of independent persons. We see a ton of this reflected in "family TH-cam" channels, and the massive amounts of kids who go to school hungry, and neglected. It's far more than people acknowledge.
Definitely, I think a **loving** parent wants to see their children succeed. I just don't think actually loving, good, parents are the majority, unfortunately. I think a lot of older generations took the path before them, and burned the bridges behind them. They aren't satisfied if anyone else has it the same as them, let alone easier.
@@Solonneysa Yeah when your parents take every little thing you do as an attack on their character, you kinda can go a little insane. My mom was that way and my dad never said anything and its lead to me having terrible mental health and self worth
Then our parents are scum. If they were truly loving, they'd be trying to improve every generation. Not make things worse with each generation.
Is it really that hopeless these days? You can still make a lot of money on the stock market these days and you can get information more easily than ever before
I think the hopelessness comes from the expectation bar being raised every year with each generation. I mean the capability of technology keeps getting higher but it hasn't exactly led to the betterment of the average person's life. In fact, the more technology progresses, the middle and lower classes are expected to do more with even less. A normal person wouldn't be able to handle all that, when all they want to do is to live a happy life.
That's less technologies fault and more the companies refusing to price their products for regular people
Factually speaking, the average genZ in the WORLD is way better off than a generation ago. AMERICANS, however, are worse off, mainly because the post WW2 windfalls wore off sometime in the 1990s. It is Americans who are suffering while the rest of the World is happier than ever.
@@michaelnurse9089 the cost of bein the worlds police and finacially supporting ALL of Europe and Isreal socialist "Utopias".
@@michaelnurse9089 As an Australian I disagree. over here housing, food, fuel and the prices of other essential things have skyrocketed.
@@montecarlowithdawningornam1817 Well, you're right that it's not technology but the companies. But it's not because of the pricing, it's because of a lack of regulations and laborer protections caused by capitalist ideology having gone to far. Capitalism obviously isn't sustainable long term, and back in the day people all agreed that it needed to be heavily regulated and be beneficial to consumes and laborers. But then there was a cold war and a bunch of anti communist propaganda produced ideas about a free market, extreme individualism, neo-liberal ideologies, and so on. What we're seeing eating the US now is the backlash of that, many Americans still hold these unrealistic ideologies that hold up capitalism as some sort of religion rather than the simple tool it is, then you end up with a society willing to exploit and abuse everyone in the name of profit. But life is pretty nice in large parts of Europe that are not yet subjected to this extremism, where capitalism is still balanced out by a strong democratic state. Sure, it's being corrupted and captured here too, but not to the extent that the US has been, at least not yet. But at the end of the day it doesn't even matter, capitalism as a system that depends on infinite growth in a closed system will destroy itself anyway, so if we don't stop it then reality will, it's dead either way.
when I was younger I thought "of course I'm going to have kids", but now the implications of having kids means I will be a labor slave for the rest of my life.
Get a vasectomy before it gets outlawed. I got one before I got out of the army a few years ago
Sorry I don't understand that mentality. You have to work for yourself anyhows. Whether you have kids or not you will always work. People don't work harder cause they have kids. Everyone works.
@@regina6838 You can live quite well with a part-time job if you don't have kids.
I have a daughter. It's not expensive. Stop being a weak pathetic excuse for a man. Kids aren't expensive. We're descended from cavemen. They were poor. They made it work. You can too. There is nothing in my life more fulfilling than raising my daughter. I have a doctorate, a good job, good wife, a house and nothing is more fulfilling than raising my daughter. Turns out, not that expensive to raise a kid. But you have to stop wasting money on yourself. I could raise my daughter on my old bartending salary. It's not rocket science.
@@kaufmanat1 (I hope you get some sense from this) sir kids are expensive if you dont have a proper and stable job. you have a doctorate and a stable job i assume with a amazing wife that will help you. Some people are single parents working several 9-5 jobs trying to pay rent, bill, send thier kids to school and other finances. And also comparing cavemen society to nowadays advance civilization is like comparing a rock to a rocket ship not only we have more expectations laid on us, more complex society which require us to follow requlations, a society which expect us to be less as humans and more like machines in the work place unlike cavemen who could follow their instics and do as they feel is right. Also a person not wanting kids is not pathetic. if you as a man can understand and evaluate if kids are worth it as kids are a life time decision which if you raised improperly will add to another dilinquet in society messing up people life u are a intellegent and mature man.
I love that phrase… “I don’t have a dream job, I don’t dream of labor”
If you love what you do you never have to work a day in your life.
@@stephenvoss6092 Work with what you love and you will never love anything again.
@@stephenvoss6092 Myth; Clown saying. Don't repeat it.
Let me guess .... they were "spoiled" in childhood and, as a result, they have no courage or ambition.
It's a really obnoxious statement when you think about it a bit, although really effective at staying unemployed from those $20+/hour jobs though.
I'm 16 and over the course of a couple of years I have realized how badly the world is plunging into overstimulation and depression. All people do is numb themselves and anger is a symptom of all of that. All I do is try my best to keep my mental health in shape.
You are hope my friend
dont worry its not actually as bad as everyone makes it seem, just dont make bad choices (like dropping out) and you'll be fine its really not that hard to live a good life.
You would have loved the 90's-00's if you skate. Btw, most 16 years old are brainless, so you are way ahead of them in maturity.
Delete all your social media, spread the word and watch the world change if you are reading this and listening.
I was born in 2003. Growing up I never had the things other kids had growing up around me. Such as a phone or new game consoles, until I got my first job in my first year of high school. So I definitely always felt left out just from that alone. I was born into severe poverty with parents who spent their days smoking weed and overall not really caring much about parenting me and teaching me valuable lessons on how to really be a man. I had to teach myself these skills. This was especially true after my sister was born. I'm about to turn 21. With no motivation, role models, inspiration, or any hope for a good future since I can remember, it's really difficult to keep working just to pay rent and bills. It feels like I'm letting myself suffer just to prolong my suffering further. I don't really know what to do or who to talk to. I made a small friend group in high school and we were really close for a long time. But this last year especially I've really just shut myself away from everyone due to my mental health not allowing me to socialize the way I used to be able to. I go to work, come home, and never socialize with anyone. I was always the one who had to send the first message like "Hey, we should hang out today / tomorrow." But if I am not the one who is making the plans, they refuse to reach out to me even once after months of not speaking. Some people will think: "Well you just got to be the one to start the conversation." I understand that, but it would be nice to just one time to get a "hello" or something purely out of their willingness to engage in conversation with me, because we're "friends".
But I suppose even that's too much to ask from them.
Bit of a rant here. I'm really sorry for all the complaining. I just needed to get this out.
I'm 24 and I've noticed that this is a common feeling nowadays and worse, it's reinforced by social media. Ignoring has turned out to be the most popular power move in social relationships, as if it makes the user more socially powerful. "Being chased" is also an obsession, pretty sad what people are turning into.
@@thiagosantosbrito3493 no, it's the fact that we all feel doomed from the system we were placed into and therefore feel as if we are static and never able to move forward.
This would be depressing if you were 35 or sth, but you are 21. Society cripples individuals via school&university, but you got the entire life ahead of you. You think of these "friends", but you don't realize how many millions you are compatible with, and would be actual friends irl if you lived closer geologically.
As for inspiration or role models, look in the past. An endless hall of legends.
As someone who told their teacher in highschool that they expected to be dead before 30, I can relate... alot. Family did their best but we were pretty alone, from our mental health issues to our finances and more. I've only in recent years been able to break the cycle of infinite survival mode, so there's a few things I'd like to pass on:
There are better friends you'll meet, there are better people, I promise you.
Where and how? You might meet a fair few online, but you can meet them in person too. The trick I've found is not only just being open to engage with others, but also going out and pursuing things that are purely of interest to you. Taking value for yourself first, others second. And if that value is helping others, more power to you! Because...
"Be the change you want to see." Cliche and corny, I know, I know,... but most cliches hold value in their sentiment, and this is no exception. You can make things happen if you're willing to believe in it, be patient with yourself when it doesn't happen, and importantly, *allow yourself* to make the effort, to fail and try again and grow as you go.
There's so much more than can fit in a YT comment, but if you're willing to take one thing away from me here, I urge you: Please, don't lose a decade of your life like I did shutting it all out and waiting to die. Take those values you wish were real, and be that person. You're a hard worker and committed to what's important to you, you're so much stronger and likeable than you'll ever feel in isolation.
Serious, try going to church. Look for a nice Baptist or protestant church near you. Jesus has never let me down.
What also happened in 2012 is the price of housing and rent skyrocketed. If you can't move out, or get your own place your life gets put on hold until you can get a job or a partner that can financially contribute. Now throw in employment issues and low wages and you've screwed over multiple generations of people who don't already own a home.
Money printer go brrrrrrrrr
I gave up on that too. However, I know that I'll find a partner.
Forget about "owning" your home. You own nothing.
In europe, you can t even find a partner anymore!!!!!!!!
@@patriciavandevelde5469 i actually found a partner in Europe! Problem is tho I'm in America 🤣
I bought a second house in January. Price was up about a third from when Joe Biden came to power. 2012 was not the only time of massive inflation. You get what you vote for.
The job that fires you that same moment upon the notice, doesn't deserves loyalty.
His IBM example was poorly chosen. IBM was a failed company. Many of us had, for decades, been praying for its demise.
What's stopping people from trying to join? There's tons of layoffs in Google but the amount of people signing up isn't dropping.
@@jimx45 How many of them are loyal or expected to be loyal?
@@nowlwane9623 Wasn't your statement on the matter of will people still join a company that is laying off people in droves? I didn't think it would matter to the company if people no longer had loyalty in your company AFTER you fired them, what would be the point. They wouldn't care about your loyalty if they already fired you.
You are so lucky to be born today with so many opportunities. 99.99% of humanity had to Really struggle and be born under terrible conditions and worked hard generation after generation to get the wonderful things you have access to now and all you guys do is complain you dont have dream jobs with perfect bosses disregarding what everyone has had to do even now to keep working hard to get progress. You lazy ungrateful generation is going get a wake up call here soon i bet at the rate you are going.
im 16 and i noticed how much sadder people were when i moved out of my city into its suburb. people tended to spend more time inside and on their phone and its honestly rubbed off on me
Go and start walking around the block every night. Greet the neighbors you do see, stop and chat.
@@5060northernmama I’m legit the only one that does that. Although I do it in the morning and the afternoon. I’m also a teen so i really only see older people never people my age ://
Everything is meaningless without God. Post modernism tried to kill God but God is far bigger than all of that. You can't invent an iPhone come up with a scientific theory and say that there is no God! That is a lie from the enemy. The fact the Christianity is still so large in the world tells us that. Yes the faith is declining but that is not because of the lack in belief in God it is the lack of wanting to involve yourself in community anymore. Hebrews 10:25 (read it) Also read Ecclesiastes. This Generation is hopeless because of the new outlook on life and yes because of the screens because the overload on lies from the enemy. It is not that God is not real because when you look into history it is proven time and time again that there is a God and His name is Jesus! (Also Yahweh) People want to act like there is no God and His concept is just something that held us together, but you must all realize that this is a lie! God is our creator! God gives us the greatest love! Jesus did exist! The prophecies were proven and there is no reason to be hopeless! God is GOOD!!!! DONT DOUBT GOD AND HIS PLAN!!! Romans 8:28 says "All things work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to His purposes" DONT LOOSE FAITH! FIGHT THE GOOD FIGHT WIN THE RACE!!!
I'm a millennial. I've been disabled my entire life. The smart phone didn't cause me to give up. The fact that those in authority around the world have proven themselves incompetent and show that they do not care for those around them has caused me to give up on society.
ok. are you going to build a parallel one?
They aren’t incompetent. It’s deliberate. They are creating the conditions to have utter control over the world population in a mere couple of decades.
*Hugz to you from a disability carer of the aged who also is a millennial*
I learned some time back the whole world can burn itself for all I care, I got my own things to do. Authority's reach only goes so far in my life so by all means let em make fools of themselves, we still have the rent to cover and bills to pay no matter the newest crisis fad, as when it goes another takes its place just like the circus act it is.
Im an M too. This sums it up.
life is constant labor and joy, trying to feel pleasure all the time only produces anxiety. Reel based social media helps creating people with messed brains accostumed to constant gratification, condition that expands to other areas of life.
“Learned helplessness”
I got that from my bosses and supervisors. They repeatedly made my feel useless, broke anti harassment policies targeting me with whatever I did, and eventually drove me to suicidal ideation.
I went to HR; they did nothing; so I quit.
Now, while I feel a bit better, I find social media is drawing me back into this cycle of not knowing what I want to do. Hell; I go out for a walk and I can hardly find anyone who isn’t glued to their phones.
Technology has connected us yet in many ways driven us farther apart than ever before.
Yeah it's a real trip when you do literally everything you are supposed to do to fight personal injustice and every avenue just comes back "sorry buttercup, suck it up" ... learned helplessness is inevitable when you're taught things by people from a different world who refuse to acknowledge that, no, actually, no one gives a shit anymore and no one wants to offer help.
Corporate and HR God don't get me started ... I'm sorry fam.
as a 09 gen z who is already making so many plans for the future and the aspiration for who i want to be, i just feel more hopeless for the future. society is decaying, the things ahead of me is so uncertain, im afraid of how bad inflation would be in the future, and the world is changing rapidly, so fast, *too* fast
just because last generation is the worst, we should not blame network
@@CactusNyaNya things are already hard, and inflation is just going to make things harder. cost of living has increased by 68%
@@CactusNyaNya the proof is already here
I’m 15 and I can definitely tell that the people who use their phone more seem to be sadder and tend to not talk to others in my school, a lot of those people I know used to be talkative and full of life.
I am 35 and I (as well as others) have witnessed the same thing about myself. My job (designer) is mostly online, so most of the day I spend time on the phone, talking to clinets, arranging projects and what not. So socializing has become harder and harder (without any booze, that is). I can't even remember when was the last time I genuinely laughed. You bring me any "Try not to laugh challenge" and I can easily win them all. I wish we could go back to 2005-2010 era when we already had social networks and stuff, but at the same time, no smartphones. We could still chat to others online, but nobody would spend their whole day in front of a PC. We would just arrange meetings and hang out. Another solution would be disable mobile data and wifi for everyone, that way people would spend less time rotting their brains in a screen and enjoy reality more.
You’re a smart 15yr old to notice that
I am 50 and years ago before the internet and cell phones life was way better! There is no substitute for human interaction. Also most young people have no interest in critical thinking due to an easy answer on a cell phone and gaming. GOD made us to interact with each other and grow in the knowledge of GOD.
its also called teenage hormons..
Time to get a old school flip phone.
It's as if we have been conditioned to have feelings about everything, we shouldn't. You don't need to have feelings about every single little thing. Emotional overload.
As a reasonably intelligent, opinionated young adult I agree with this statement.
I think its more so that the internet was a massive shock to the world and people are still recovering. The mega sphere of social activity we've created is NOT what our brains are used to. Were used to chatting up 10 tribesmen per day maybe, not seeing what millions are saying & thinking all at once.
@@yesiam7481 Hear hear.
It's more about WHAT do we give our attention to, not about stopping the feelings
Very illuminating narration for a 70 years old father (me) who has a gen z son. Now I think I understand much about my son: his mood, introvertness, his behavior, don't care for or any hankering for consumer goods, very little interest in girls.... Thank you.
He’s a normal guy.. it’s not easy for young men. I’m 28 and I see it in people my age too. It’s not a good time for young people.
All of that is very normal amongst gen z men.
The best thing you can do whether or not your son admits it, is to be there for him and be as supportive as you can as the father figure in his life. It can mean the world to someone. I respect you for taking the time to understand the struggles of this generation, and I am sure your son would be appreciative of it as well.
34 year old here. Single, no interest in women(dating apps are cancer). Just be there for your son. Make sure he is busy with a hobby. Personally, I have found cars and computers. In the winter I play with computers(and video games) and in the summer it's cars. I enjoy my simple, quiet life. No drama, no crying, and logic prevails!
@@cliffordjordan9577I’m 28 too used to be ongoing and a happy person but man I’m in a melancholic depression now the society is sick and people are falling for the selfish and individualistic society that is killing us.. I dodged suicide so many times but now I’m completely hopeless..also knowing what the future that the elite globalists WEF preparing for us..is making more sick than ever since 2020..hope that humanity wins for me I finished my part lost my brain in the process also being raised in third world country in a F*up family made it 10000 times worser..I’m in tears and pain for what it’s happening all around the world wars division hyper inflation genderism..once you see their deception you can’t go back living with a filter..average persons thinks I’m crazy when they can’t see the truth anymore..fed up lies and those are leading us straight to hell by empowering more the stakeholders of megalithic companies
He is very normal, most of the guys I know of my age (25) are so damn similar, otherwise they have to gather at one of their parents house.. and attempt to have a good hangout..
If they’re “moved out”, there’s no way you’re hanging out because they’re about to lose their apartment every second they moved out of their parents
Mankind has starved his soul while fattening his ego.
feminism pushed man into competition instead of cooperation
@@nyahhbinghiYes! And the racial divide in America is actively promoted to distract us from the actual battle between socioeconomic class!
Cooperation and solidarity is bad for our jailkeepers, and they'll do anything to keep us from realizing that.
@@nyahhbinghi Look to nature, you will find your answer.
The caveat is humans ability to communicate clearly, which should guarantee cooperation every time.
@@patrickwinn2389not by a longshot. Blaming everything on feminism is the most ridiculous thing I’ve read today
@@oahts5906 Women are the silent drivers of society. A man who has a woman to care for, and is cared for by, is satiated. He has someone to protect, cherish, and live for. This is why single men commit most of the violent crime, they dont have a woman to set their standards, so they just act like a wild animal.
That the Walton family foundation produced the study is irony of the purest form.
it wasn't better when we punished girls for reporting SA... I hate MAGA and fake Christians. They just do not understand.
“Check your premises” - Ayn Rand
@@fitsodafun _You get it sir. It's all about earning power. Underemployed part-time minimum wage earners are asked to have "hope" and raise large families ? Come on !_
Indeed. The same Walmart who taught their employees how to apply for government assistance programs.
INDEED
Yes good God what a mess. I held out getting a smart phone until last year. I nearly couldn't function anymore. It is a life requirement now. iPhones replaced God I guess.🤨
I was forced to get a smart phone a couple years ago when my flip phone went belly up. I leave it home.
@@sammyjoe2390 its called "smart" because it combines the functions of several devices, such as a computer, a camera, a music player, and a telephone, into a single device, not because it takes any intelligence to use. jeez how old are you
get another flip phone
@@erykando flip phones also are computers with music players and cameras. it's 'smart' because it is internet-connected and networked to extensive infrastructure for data collection. 'smart fridge' 'smart thermostat' 'smart doorbell' 'smart tv' what do they all have in common? internet-connected and piped to data collection/transmission infrastructure.
@@erykandoit’s called smart cuz you gotta be dumb to buy it
@@oahts5906 crazy how convenience equals dumb to you, you prob walk around with your groceries around the store instead of taking a shopping cart because it would be "dumb" if yall expired assed are not ready for change then dont be a part of this world
I have come to 2 realizations in life that now give me more joy than ever imaginable.
Just to cut it short, get rid of ALL of your expectations for everything. The soda will taste slightly different tomorrow than it does today.
Live in the moment, do not regret anything from the past but grow from everything, take something good from everything and never fear the future.
Until you know you failed the exam, don't worry about the hypothetical IF.
I truly believe, if you can get to such a state where the expectation for everything is so low or nonexistant, that no matter the outcome it can only be good, or at least not as bad if you were let down.
...but what happens when you notice something getting worse? Do you just ignore it and embrace the reduced quality experience of today, and again tomorrow, until whatever it is has become unrecognizable from what it used to be?
There's a balance, sure, but we do need to have some expectations. If I say I'm taking your house, you can't just smile and think about getting used to living in a tent.
@@llIlIlllII It's not black or white, life is constant labor and joy, trying to feel pleasure all the time only produces anxiety. Reel based social media helps creating people with messed brains accostumed to constant gratification, condition that expands to other areas of life.
"It's difficult to identify any big social change," love. The economy. The fact that most people who are employed aren't earning a livable wage and probably have to take some form of abuse to even earn that amount of money. It's the rampant exploitation of individuals and the constant devaluing of human life that has left people despondent. We live in an age of despots who present themselves under the guise of fairly elected democratic governments.
The statistic of unemployment going down but the increase of mental stress and despondency is linked because every day people are expected to go make someone else rich while they barely get by, if even that. The statistic that should be tracked isn't unemployment, it should be gainful employment that provides a livable wage. You'll see that number shift drastically and have the correlating data to support why there is an epidemic of loneliness and suicune. The main difference between Millennials and the earlier generations is that Millennials were fed the promise that through hard work they could succeed, even though most of the 'successful' individuals do little to no work and have done so for years or decades. The difference between Millennials and Gen Z/Alpha is that Gen Z and Alpha see through the bullshit that was fed to Millennials. They're despondent because they know it's not going to get any better, and they can barely live as it is now.
Capitalism is a death system, not in anyway a healthy or sane system to meet people's needs. I wish people knew that more widely. I mean, we can still learn that by sharing knowledge. A watch of Zeitgeist films by Peter Joseph or seeing channels like Second Thought, Our Changing Climate and World Beyond Capitalism explain this very well. But once we know the problems we also need viable strategies to use to help us in our communities to build a better system. For that people can look at One Small Town Contributionism. How could that help you and your community create abundance and prosperity from cooperation and co-ownership?
Love is the big one, honestly. Modern first-world women are unlovable and incapable of love. Men at every level of status are predated on by them. And the average (even well above average actually) man is demoralized and despondent. There's no purpose, there's no just war to fight and die in, there's no pure-hearted woman to build something for since most have turned into dopamine-banshees trying to squeeze you for everything you're worth, and for women most men are corn addicts and desperate for affection or jaded and only see one valuable thing about you. So men and women basically hate each other for justifiable reasons and it's a consequence of modernity and leaves us all lonely and depressed
Us milennials see the bullshsit aswell don't you worry. It BEGAN with us.
I think the difference between older Generations (first and foremost boomers), millennials and Gen Z is that the first group was promised a better future and the promise was held, the second group was promised a better future and never really gets to see it and Gen Z was never promised anything in the first place. The idea of a job that can support a family, buy a home and still have free time for friends and hobbies is so absurd to everyone under 30 that they simply don't see a point in participating in the current system. Capitalism has failed young people more than any other generation alive today.
You do realist you only think this way due to modern society? Do you realize how many people had it was worse in history? Most people didn't own land and it's only today you have access to a dream life for 99.99% of all people in history. You live like a king with you Hot water and open access to the worlds foods. Learn to be happy with what you have and try to better yourself.
In terms of the smartphone issue - I think you're almost entirely correct. I'm 31 years old and I remember a time before smartphones, but that doesn't meant a time before the internet... I think the problem is internet addiction, and what the smartphone did was it made you connected to the internet 100% of the time (except for when you're sleeping), whereas it used to be that you had to be at home in order to access the internet on your desktop PC / home laptop, and when you weren't at home - you'd be outside spending time with your friends, and everyone would talk to each other without distracting themselves with their phones, because mobile phones were still "ordinary".
That's a good way to put it. The internet was the vice, your smart phone was basically taking that vice and making it accessible 24/7. So if the internet was heroine, your phone is basically like having a drug dealer in your pocket who will give you whateber drug you want at any point for free.
Good luck quitting that addiction.
it's just a symptom, we are disconnected because we are in a constant survival mode because we are set up by the system to COMPETE instead of Co Operate ! It is really that simple. system is run by psychopaths and it funnels more of them to the top all the time whilst people with empathy helplessly watch and know not what to do
@@kaufmanat1 I think technology like the internet provided an outlet for people to live their shittiest version of themselves even if that version, to them, seemed the best. I banned Instagram in my house and I told my daughter there was no way in hell she was allowed view it, use it, interact with it or even talk about it in the house. It's a vehicle for lies (fake lives) and shame (why are you not as beautiful as me) and disingenuous grifters (nowadays called 'influencers') to make a buck. She's 16 now and thanked me for my stance a few weeks back. A good friend of hers killed herself by hanging because some dicks mocked her relentlessly on Instagram over a 2 year period. It wasn't my daughter's friend's addiction to phones or the internet that killed her, it was how this "heroin" allowed others to abuse her anonymously, without consequence and without relent. Now that AI is the new buzzword and folks are waking up I give social media another 5 years before it will be regarded as a technological blip where we all got hoodwinked for a time and then woke up.
I grew Up in the 2010s and i Had nowhere near this addiction. Nurture, Not Nature. I got my First Phone with 10 (2019) but that i still went outdoors 75% of the time. Gen X as well but especially Millenials cant parent properly and thats how Gen Alpha grows Up with TH-cam kids
@@kaanyasin3733 so i guess we have addicted millennial parents with addicted kids
I'm over 50 and having worked in marketing management I can assure you #2 is completely true. 98% of all corporations are in business for one reason only: To make as much money as possible for the CEO, top shareholders, and other executives. Workers don't matter at all. This can be an illusion to some workers because they may like their direct manager, they may even meet the CEO and find that person friendly, but this does not change the fact that greed rules all. Employes exist to have labor extracted from and will be discarded when no longer needed.
You are also correct on #3. You have almost no power. At least not in a political-economic sense.
Well, I'd call people naive if they assumed otherwise. I totally get that companies go for profit - that's the only metric that measures success in the market, so I'm not mad. Of course I'll also get the maximimum out of the employer, where I can. If the job market is good, expect to be compared and played against 3 other competitors. This just goes both ways: Whoever has the advantage will use it. That's the way it is at the market.
Germany, where I live and work, has quite nice Social Security Systems and employee-friendly laws, which balances this fight a little.
In the end however, the concept remains the same. The one with the advantage will leverage it. Everybody who tells you otherwise, didn't understand the game.
Quietly? QUIETLY!?
I shouted it from the rooftops and gave my family a doctoral dissertation on why I gave up. And not ONE of them even REMOTELY tried to understand it.
This feeling of hopelessness and powerlessness is exactly why I refuse to watch or read any kind of news. What's important to me and my life will reach me through friends and family, the rest doesn't bother me. It's mainly negative events that I can't influence either way and keep me in this spiraling mindset of "everything is getting worse". I need something positve to keep my will to life. I may be ignorant, but at least I'm happy.
limiting your exposure to world news doesn't make you ignorant. it lets you focus on the things that are important. the news love spreading negative news becuz that's what draws in the views and the money. we humans are literally not evolved to have this much information crammed into us, especially ones that we can't influence.
❤ Good on you.
Wow, that's literally exactly the same way I see everything too. Realised a long time ignorance is bliss, and that sometimes it's the healthiest thing to do for you. I live so much more in the moment and while I lament so much in this world, I try to make my reality, and the people who are important to me, as good and happy as possible. It's really helped me
and that's why shit don't change, you have to have the guts to face up to evil and then tackle it. the only reason this sick system keeps going is because it tells the individual you can't change it...
@@markc1234golf So what can we change?
I'm a GenX single dad with a GenZ teenage son. I feel so bad for my son's generation. He is becoming all the negative things you mentioned. He was such a happy child up until 12 y/o. Then I got him an XBox and a cell phone and everything changed.
Read "Industrial Society and Its Future", that power process, and surrogate activity parts. Predicted 3 decades ago (including this vid)
Consider enrolling him or attending in an in-person community group if you haven’t ( sports, church, martial arts, etc.) This can help.
On that note, if I ever have kids, I refuse to get them a phone until they turned 18. No phones. It ruins them. No gaming, none of that.
Sell up and build an off grid cabin somewhere warm?
@@lateblossom 1). What about them communicating with friends? No phone will leave them ostracised at school, for one.
2). I tutor kids. I know 10 and 11 year olds who do very well with phone access, because their parents are active and engaged in their upbringing. One of the kids even got interested in electronics repair, and their parents got them several old phones to experiment on.
The kid does not use any kind of social media, and is impressively good at online safety.
being super stressed just to be a little less poor... or just stepping back, having your time, and not feeding a broken corrupt system.
Agree. Try not to cooperate with the system.
"We can be like Sisyphus, and change things within our reach to create meaning" (loose quote because I am bad at transcribing)
I'm pretty sure Sisiyphus rolling a boulder up a hill with no hope of ever finishing it was a divine punishment for him transgressing constantly against the gods. If a situation that is explicitly designed to induce frustration and hopelessness seems hopeful to you, I dunno.
Have you ever read 'The myth of Sisyphus'? Not the actual myth but the philosophical book about absurdism; it uses Sisyphus as a way to describe absurdity, since what he is doing is quite literally meaningless. I personally haven't read it but I think when he talks about Sisyphus I think he's talking about that book more than the actual greek myth, but maybe I'm wrong
Considering we mostly joked around and trash talked at base camp, THIS was the last thing expected you to create. And yet you've created a masterpiece. Good work ding ding!
LMAO thank you ding dong- I mean Nico haha
To all the people saying it's smartphones that caused this, haven't been paying attention.
Exactly, tired of this narrative.It's getting boring.
@@luana2778WEF agenda black rock and vanguard owning everything
Governments elite’s corporations ect???
@@lukawilliams4822 W E F agenda..
Because the real cause is - what, social media? - if so, to me that's the same argument. Please enlighten us, master.
I want to say thank you for this video. I was born in the 80s and the first 20 years of my life were amazing, I had friends, I dated, I was treated like a human at my job, and the best part, nobody really cared about politics on either side unless they were older or involved in politics. Race relations were at an all time high after 9/11 when it felt like there was a boogeyman to rally against and internet 1.0 introduced us new cultures. Then I watched every point you made in this video happen in real time. It was really slow, starting with my friends drifting away to either become attached to devices or develop anxiety so bad they didn't want to do anything outside of work (which I get).
Then suddenly I wasn't just competing with people within driving distance for jobs, I was competing with people from other states. Then people in other countries. People decided that having disposable online friends was better than the hassle of having friends they had to meet up with, because meeting up was too much work and they couldn't just drop conversations like you can over text. Women suddenly had the attention of hundreds of men and men stopped treating women as "someone to bring home to mom."
Then the focus on politics pretty much alienated people from 50%+ of the population and taught them to hate, treat others as subhuman, and completely lose any semblance of empathy, respect for opposing opinions, and focus on things that literally do not matter.
We can never get back in the jar. We can't close Pandora's box. Even the inventors of half the technology we're bound to today have come out to apologize, including the inventor of the smartphone.
Good luck future generations, you're gonna need it...
This popped up in my recommendations. This was well articulated in conveying what must be a largely murky, undefined mess to untangle! This needs more views!
Me: "Wealth distribution is at an all time high, housing is practically unaffordable, the job market is atrocious, I'm one missed paycheck and surprise expense away from being homeless, and instead of the taxes I pay going towards anything to actually help mitigate literally any of these issues, they go towards endless wars overseas so that billionaires can profit off of slave labor and exploitation." Ameer: "Have you tried not caring?"
Have you tho? The root cause of some problems will take decades to be fixed. You can just patch it up for a year or so and get yourself a shovel to dig it to the core. Sometimes we are way too weak to do anything substantial, but we are always strong enough to buy some time and wasting the strength in pursuit of something substantial will just lead to disappointment.
@@snehanshu6228Damn dawg, that’s depressing af
I was really impressed with the analysis of the societal factors leading to hopelessness. I was severely let down when it came to the "solution", which is basically just to turn off the noise. That only allows the systems in power to continue unabated and doesn't address general societal unrest about the situation. We want a different world, not one where we bury our heads in the sand when uncomfortable.
You want to provide the solutions to the hard issues but can't find solutions to your life.
I've got a bit of advice for you thats less dumb.
Only care about what you can possibly be responsible for or control. If its totally outside of your ability to affect, its the same thing as reading a book. Dont let it get to you.
The Smart phone was just a gate to more information, and when you learn more about how things operate in life, you get depressed.
I'm almost 50 now, proud Gen X guy who decades ago said screw the system and don't label me. I spent my life trying to understand people through observation and music, trying to understand them.
About 7 years ago I got divorced and started digging into Philosophy and Psychology, of anything to help understand myself.
I now age two Gen Z kids, one still in middle school and I'm close enough to their friends to see how they view life. It's saddening and concerning.
This was a great video, for so many reasons, and honestly you should have at least 10x the subscribers that you do.
Thank you for posting this up.
All the things I’ve been thinking about too, pretty interesting how these feelings seem to be mutually felt across a whole generation. Love these explainer videos!!
thank you :)))
I'm sad to know it's not just me that gave up
Same
It's awful. I'm 24, and I have no idea what I want to do with my life. Any and all effort I put into anything these days feels worthless.
It's the end result of 3 generations of telling kids "You can be anything you want to be, you just have to dream it" and telling them they're all winners.
This, so much this! Participation trophies don't exist in the working world, it's about time the kids realized this.
@@rustyhowe3907 The problem was not telling them they were all winners the problem was your implied assumption that only winning matters in the working world. In the working world not everyone can be a CEO or President. Many many people have worthwhile careers without obsessing about winning.
@@stephenvoss6092 To clear this up I'll give a little insight on my original point with your observation in mind;
Winning is not solely about top tier top dog positions, it's about accomplishing. A win is actually getting employed, becoming a useful worker, networking yourself with good influences and becoming a good influence among the employees and from there branching off to your own personal goals.
Not one drop of this is easy, it takes guts and perseverance.
By no means an easy task, which is where my resentment for participation trophies comes from as it gives the "win" without the work *to* win.
Kids now parade themselves for just showing up to work, they don't have the ambition or drive to do more than that but a huge chunk of them seem to expect benefits and better positions just for being present.
Like in endurance sports pacing is incredibly important with smaller goals (like getting employed in the first place) to accomplish along the path of marathons but no-one taught the kids even that much it would seem and now they suffer burnout.
And it's a crying shame a random like myself needed to point that out when it was drilled into me merely one generation before.
@@stephenvoss6092 I *did* have an answer for you which went deeper into your point and my stance on mine but youtube decided to play the no-no magic word game on me and deleted it, how fantastic I guess the truth hurts youtube's feewings. A fitting irony indeed.🤬
In short; (let's hope THIS doesn't get deleted) Participation trophies aren't teaching the effort behind the "win", and "winning" is what you make of it.
People dream of top positions, and people are happy to have smaller goals and all of that is 100% valid. In fact a lot of people would consider a win to be employed at all and to be honest that IS a huge accomplishment.
It's very sad the kids of today haven't been taught to be a good influence in the work force, to become a useful employee that's hardworking and approachable, a real pillar of support amongst their peers. Participation trophies taught them showing up is good enough and no ambition, drive or strain or even a positive attitude is expected in order to "win" at sustaining a job.
I'm not surprised it crushes them when they enter the workforce.
@@stephenvoss6092 I did have an answer for you which went deeper into your point and my stance on mine but youtube decided to play the no-no magic word game on me and deleted it, how fantastic I guess the truth ruffles youtube's feewings. A fitting irony indeed.
In short; (let's hope THIS doesn't get deleted) Participation trophies aren't teaching the effort behind the "win", and "winning" is what you make of it.
People dream of top positions, and people are happy to have smaller goals and all of that is 100% valid. In fact a lot of people would consider a win to be employed at all and to be honest that IS a huge accomplishment.
It's very sad the kids of today haven't been taught to be a good influence in the work force, to become a useful employee that's hardworking and approachable, a real pillar of support amongst their peers. Participation trophies taught them showing up is good enough and no ambition, drive or even a positive attitude is expected in order to "win" at sustaining a job.
I'm not surprised it crushes them when they enter the workforce.
"why is gen z giving up???"
"NO MATTER HOW MANY HOURS I PUT IN I CANT EVEN PROVIDE MYSELF AND MYSELF ALONE WITH THE MOST BAREBONES NECESSITIES"
"it must be the smartphones"
Any time someone says, "so and so is THE go to expert" alarm bells should start going off.
Jean Twenge is a self-promoting grifter.
'post-modernism' found the people unprepared for the 'burden' of being free to choose. unfortunately the collapsed/sabotaged education and the greedy consumerist society did not help a bit.
go back to your cave then
Great video. Voltaire also said "We should cultivate our garden" meaning we should focus on things under our control.
Great video, man! You're a great dude. Thanks for putting in the time to make this video.
WOW WHAT A VIDEO!! Love seeing all the work, effort, and passion behind this. :) THE EDITING, THE SOUND DESIGN, THE BEAUTIFUL SHOTS!
I totally agree that with so much going on in the world, we tend to forget that there's also beauty and meaning if we let ourselves see it! It's the yin and the yang.
And also to let go of the things we can't control. Only then can we focus on the doable and make a positive change within ourselves and the world.
Honestly a very underrated channel. Im glad i got recommended this, great job dude.
The lengths people will go to not say "it's the economy" is amazing.
"The fact that something will end is not a case to say that it does not have meaning. Because things have meaning while they are here. So be here… now." That's the most beautiful thing I have ever heard.
Everything is meaningless without God. Post modernism tried to kill God but God is far bigger than all of that. You can't invent an iPhone come up with a scientific theory and say that there is no God! That is a lie from the enemy. The fact the Christianity is still so large in the world tells us that. Yes the faith is declining but that is not because of the lack in belief in God it is the lack of wanting to involve yourself in community anymore. Hebrews 10:25 (read it) Also read Ecclesiastes. This Generation is hopeless because of the new outlook on life and yes because of the screens because the overload on lies from the enemy. It is not that God is not real because when you look into history it is proven time and time again that there is a God and His name is Jesus! (Also Yahweh) People want to act like there is no God and His concept is just something that held us together, but you must all realize that this is a lie! God is our creator! God gives us the greatest love! Jesus did exist! The prophecies were proven and there is no reason to be hopeless! God is GOOD!!!! DONT DOUBT GOD AND HIS PLAN!!! Romans 8:28 says "All things work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to His purposes" DONT LOOSE FAITH! FIGHT THE GOOD FIGHT WIN THE RACE!!!
really fantastic work man :)
I used to feel so heavily obligated to feel a type of suffering, or express it, because it was so prevalent through social media. but like you said, worrying accomplishes so little, and learning to let that concern secede has done my mental so well.
love love the sound design in this too, great track picks, really supported the tone. also! don't know if that was an intended match-cut at the end between you at the lake/you at the train, but sooooo sick haha
cheers!
Thank you so much Brad :) and thanks for noticing the match cut hehe
Okay, this is truly phenomenal. Thank you a billion times for making such a beautiful, wise and inspiring video. Please never stop creating, Ameer ! ❤
Thank you Meisha! I appreciate your kind words so much :)
this is such a beautiful video. felt like an open letter (a very well put video essay) to an entire generation. i hope that your warm message reaches the youth especially in these trying times. thank you ameer.
Your end conclusion 'find a way to change yourself' is no different to the conformity and obedience speeches that seem insightful but are really just telling people to accept the futility of their complaints and 'find Zen' so that you don't notice the bad things.
People aren't more depressed "because of phones"; they're depressed because they can now **see** how the world's systems prevent any meaningful improvement in people's lives. They're depressed because they saw a moment of real potential change, i.e. work from anywhere during the pandemic, gradually pulled back again by employers who want the world to return to the same obedient and monotonous frame it was before.
And here you are telling people, "don't try to improve anything significant; just find one thing you think you can improve for yourself and that will be enough.'
The world doesn't need people to be placid in the acceptance of their fate in the status quo. What smartphones have really given us is the on-demand ability for mass communication. We need to be **encouraging** people to resist the things they find oppressive, so that others know they are not alone - because only together do we have a chance of making people listen.
Smartphones also allow us to make money if u use them right lol
True af
@@30nickk24 true. But a real "humanistic" society would teach people how to do that. We are taught how to _work_ but we are *not* taught how to *_succeed_* .
It's hard to put into words how I appreciate how well-written this is. There are a lot of videos that are just talking heads for 20 minutes about this kind of topic, but you actually researched and wrote about it, and edited it well.
I'm a 2000 kid, and growing up in the world since then I've lived a lot of what you've described. I'm not sure we're "quietly giving up" like the title suggests, but we are realizing how dysfunctional these ways of living are. Our generation will age, we'll get more power as the old people die, and then change will come. Slowly, almost unnoticeably. But surely. It has to. Good video
Uou think you're not giving up, but that's not the case with 2004 onwards people.
@Gjakdjruknownhpjs incorrect.
"Our generation will age, we'll get more power as the old people die, and then change will come."
I'm old enough to know that every generation since at least the 1960s has said this exact thing. Every one.
Let's make a world gen alpha and the next several generations a livable, place where they can connect with each other.
@@twoods90
The thing is, stuff does change. Just look at the accepce of LGBT+ people over the last 50 years. It's not better everywhere all the time and it's far from a sure fight but people have made substantial changes. Going even further back the fight for bipoc rights has made tremendous progress over the last hundred years (here in the US at least).
Tldr: things are not as static as they seem. They can get better or worse based off the actions of people and, even when wider change is beyond your reach you can work to carve out a positive space for the people around you❤
As a 41 year old who still doesn't own a smart phone, I can tell you with 100% certainty that those things make people less happy. I spent my late 20's feeling like my friends were abandoning me for their new phones -- they were interrupting dates, taking precedence over conversation, keeping people up late and making them forget to look at people and smile as they passed on the street. People stopped asking one another for directions or the time, which was actually a surprisingly easy way to make friends sometimes. I wasn't alone in my dismay either -- there used to be an etiquette where if your technology got in the way of human interaction it was considered rude. I now live next to a college campus, and probably 75% of the students walking around are staring at screens as they walk around -- not the trees, not the sky, not one another -- even when they are walking side-by-side with friends. No one is interacting. In the early 2000's, when I was in college, walking with a friend who was completely ignoring you would've been heart-breaking, confusing, infuriating. Subconsciously, I think it still feels that way, we've just made it normal.
You are awake. ♡
Riiiiiiiiiiight. It's those damn phones! Them kids just need to talk to each other again and get outside and kick a ball around!
Give me a break. Maybe Gen Z's giving up because previous generations have done everything in their power to hoard as much wealth as possible leading to a new generation sooner or later being left with NO CHANCE of ever having financial security. I will never own my own home. EVER. And given landlords are free to increase rents as much as they like, I will spend an ever growing percentage of my income on rent. I already spend about 50% on rent. Within the next two years it'll be 70%. We are being forced to become serfs and watch as boomers and billionaires vacuum up all the wealth and land and laughing at us for not being smart enough to buy homes and invest 30 years before we were BORN.
Have you ever considered that the reason people prefer to be on their phones instead of talking to you is because you simply were not worth talking to?
@@wafflingmean4477
What a ridiculously hostile response. Of course the larger problems in the world are part of the problem, but there's people living in very poor hopeless regions of the world who are actually happier than people in western nations, exactly because their need for social interaction is satisfied, and they're not confronted with a bunch of rich beautiful people flaunting their "better" lives on social media every day.
Not to mention, the guy you're responding to is a millennial, most of us can't afford homes either. Most of my friend group is just saving endlessly as the housing prices keep drifting out of reach.
well your conclusion seems obviously biased and invalid cos 1) 100% certainty is never something you can achieve, and 2) you don't even own a smart phone.
This is akin to saying "as a hamster who never tasted fish meat, I can tell you with 100% certainty that this is the source of all of humanity's suffering"
@@wafflingmean4477 Lmao great response. Boomer luddites are irritating AF.
Brilliant overview, and beautiful vid in every way. Keep up the awesome work!
13:22 - that is such a good point. The constant awareness that there's always a foreign child prodigy out there better than you for literally any skill can be really demotivating and something that people didn't really have to think about back when all anyone had to compare themselves to were the people in their community.
Being the fastest runner in your village is so much more feasible than being the fastest runner in the world.
Well put together!
This is so true. Cards are stacked against us. Housing is unaffordable and you'd be a fool to try and buy something if you could get rug pulled (i.e., layed off) in a moment's notice then can't make your mortgage then good luck finding a new job with your anxiety causing a nervous break down and then ultimately end up moving in with your parents or just saying your ultimate goodbye.
Scary times.
And you wonder why doctors prescribe (hand out) Antidepressant pills like they are sweets.
I wasn't expecting this video to be so therapeutic. Thank you for letting us share this moment with you across time and space! :)
I love that you're bringing philosophy and Camus to this conversation. I'm a Xennial, I discovered his work in the 90's, but he's a 1940-50s man. He cornered this 'life is absurd' narrative in a way that's still relatable today (wether its the existential version or the 'I'm watching too much news' version, which also brought people down, in any era where you had news to spread), but he's of course not the first one to observe how life can seem meaningless (his solution is action and revolt...). This question is Humanity-Old (we all die and life can feel absurd...) and every generation deals with it in its own way. The fact that GenZ and younger Mills were left alone with social media at such a young & crucial age (while older generations were barely getting a grip of it themselves...) is what makes it unique here: sharing with the online world whatever it makes you feel like and whatever solution you come up with to fill the void.
ie: the difference is Zs coping with the problem the same way as what causes it (in big part): more social media........ But I feel you guys. It's so hard to disconnect. And it's cruel because the gafas have invaded every -EVERY- area of life: work, play, community, commerce, relationships... and it blows everything in huge proportions, precisely because it's the addition of what most people feel, instead of creating a community discussion. And it makes us dissect every aspect of it in intricate ways, on multiple platforms, but not always with the best guidance.
But the pre 2012 world left us alone too (Xennials like me often quote the late 90s Daria cartoon to summarize this, and 19th century Romantics certainly feel you), and every generation says the one before or after them, is stupid. As for layoffs of the 80's, some heavy industries suffered it as early as the beginning of the 70s (oil crisis no.1). The matter of power balance in the workplace is also age old. And as you said, although the world we live in provides for beautiful freedoms, the set of trials that we face today (revenue gaps of all kinds, eco-crisis, lodging crisis, political dishevelment, seemingly immoveable capital forces, etc) is uniquely gloomy... Meaning original solutions are in our hands (they cannot be in anyone elses's). I say 'we', because even though I'm not Z, my personal situation places me on your side. Let's also remember that revolutions and social turmoils historically happen when & BECAUSE social contract is broken by elites and authorities. It's been smelly for some time now.....
Courage, people. Things have meaning because you give it to them.
this was really well put together, thank you so much
I was sitting in a waitingroom with 6 other people today and everyone was watching their phone... The moment they sat down, the phone pops out and there's no more engagement with their surrounding.
I love talking with strangers, I find it exciting. I did not always find it exciting, but had to learn it by feeling uncomfortable. I hope the new generation learns this as well.
I think that people are just tired from the stress of their lives and see phone usage as easier than talking with strangers, so people see it as more relaxing. The funny thing is that even when it’s uncomfortable (and I have a speech impediment, so it’s doubly so for me), have good conversations with strangers can be more rejuvenating than just about anything else. It feels like work at first, and there is risk, but it’s worth it, as you know. I feel like each new generation is getting a bit worse at conversation, which makes social media seem even more fake, because who are you if you can’t or won’t represent yourself in person?
They won’t and therefore their kids won’t
That's not the phone, that's people.
Back in the day we'd rummage through the magazines, grab one, and take a seat. If you didn't bring your own waiting material.
One day, maybe on their deathbeds, people may realise that they should have lived and appreciated the moment more, instead of stressing themselves out with endless information and data that did not contribute to improving their lives and happiness of themselves and others that are important to them.
Travel too has changed with this.
We need a revolution of political, economic and philosophical thinking and organising worldwide.
Maybe, but probably in the opposite direction of what you think.
@@roflchopter11 agitate, organise and educate my dude 😎
Nope to late
Revolutions in thinking don't happen because some enlightement happens. It happens because all people thinking "the old way" just start to die.
This video dives deep into the struggles facing our generation with raw honesty and insight. It's a wake-up call to the challenges we face, but also a beacon of hope, reminding us that amidst the chaos, there's still meaning to be found. A must-watch for anyone grappling with their place in today's world
After everything that has been going on in my own life and the thoughts I have been thinking; this is what I needed to hear. Thank you.
this is such an eloquent, well-executed video that speaks so precisely to the issues that i feel everyone our age and beyond is dealing with right now. amazing job, and thanks for phrasing these ideas so clearly
I don't remember ever agreeing with wage labor, imperialism and a world dominated by capital in general.
I'd rather bleed green than red.
Well, back in the fifties most people didn't agree to systematic racism
@@Greatwhitesloth then youll live your last days in a dying world, nothing will change as long as we allow unchecked capitalism to destroy everything we hold dear for a line to go up.
Nobody asked you
That's like saying "I didn't asked to be born"
No chicken ever asked to be served to be on my plate or someone agreeing to have cancer in their 20s but it is what it is.
Its how humans are that came to be this way. Restart the world a million times and we'll arrive to this situation in a little bit different conditions but very similar
Thank you for this video and the work you put into it
y'know, it's really helps to know that something I've come to learn myself, that being there's no point in stewing on whatever is getting you down as it only leads to sadness, has been sage advice all this time
I'm a millennial and I feel the exact same way, especially with what is going on in Gaza right now. I also feel worthless because everyone else is so much better at everything than I am. You nailed this video.
The vast majority of people in Gaza have wanted all people in Israel to be killed. They even teach it in their schools. Its a tragedy for sure. Very sad to watch. Let this be a lesson about what communities should allow to be taught in theri schools. We should teach love and acceptance, not extermination.
@@phillipreese6272 Why do we even care? There are million bad things going on around the world at the same time. It's not my problem.
Thank you for your calm positive and thoughtful approach. Its needed. We all learn in time to focus on the thing within our control and not to get weighed down with massive world issues we cannot control. Doing so will surely wear you down physically and mentally.
Except we can do things to exert influence and help steer our leaders in more positive directions e.g., more economic fairness, ending the 'forever wars', however, those with vast power and wealth want you to feel powerless because if enough people feel that way, there will be no challenges to the 1% who want all the earth's natural resources and wealth for themselves.
The biggest issues plaguing my generation as a Gen Z fellow...
1. Careers
- Just look at the job market, its growing in competition without stopping and even if people say there are more qualified jobs than employees, the amount of people getting into those jobs is low
- Certain roles are faltering, lots of them are either being underpaid or overworked or being wiped out by automation/AI
- Unemployment is still a major concern and most people don't end up keeping their first job for like 40 years
2. Relationships
- Social media has skewed standards so bad that potential partners either seem too perfect or people are too nervous to even give dating a chance
- Add to that the amount of us that have mental issues and those of us that are not fit for a relationship due to our mental state, either you get a bunch of lonely people or people that are in toxic and doomed-to-fail relationships that further the cycle of steering away from love
- Too many people have been ingrained to look for expectations over the basic necessities and people have stopped making compromises, which just leads to more misery, life is all about compromises and learning to grow with someone who might not be a perfect match or soulmate is a compromise too
- Some people have even just retired to AI boyfriends/girlfriends or given up entirely on love so the amount of us that will raise a new generation is low
3. Economy
- Incomes aren't increasing but the standard of living is, just look at the housing market and consumer goods prices and gas prices
- So many people are in student debt and the federal government is doing nada to relieve that
4. Social media
- I'm gonna include the Internet in this, but literally this is the worst thing Gen Z could have ever been exposed to
- So many people have lost confidence, gained skewed perspectives of life and people, and become chronically addicted or attached to technology
- This just boosts insecurity and does nothing to fix it, either the insecurity from attention-seeking by posting or the insecurity from seeing all these "rich and successful, happy" people who are insecure themselves and faking their lives on social media
5. Health
- Now this is where most of us fall into alignment, especially with mental health
- A ton of us have mental health issues stemming from betrayal, bullying, genetic conditions, etc. and even though there is mental health awareness, most of us have not found solutions or even accepted them
- As for physical health, there are a lot of us that do minimal exercise, while others struggle with food and even sleep
6. Climate Change
- Global warming is just ramping up and past generations have screwed us over completely, we will be left to deal with the aftermath of potentially 50% of all animal species going extinct, increasing natural disasters, food scarcity with so many people turning away from agriculture, etc.
- And ofc pollution and littering are still going on, while carbon and other emissions are showing no slowing down
7. The future
- Tbh at this point I'd be lucky to get into a stable relationship let alone get to the point of having kids, which would be another pain in the ass to even afford, why raise another human being if you can barely provide for yourself? That's just misery for everyone...
- I have 0 faith in the job and housing markets, I'll be lucky to find income stability and a good place to stay
- The world's already fucked over by past generations of people, so we are just adding to it 🤷
I didn't read it. Make a video instead. That's too long.
@@pleasestopcreatingmoresent3328 I wrote my thoughts for other Gen Z people to relate or start a conversation with me about, if you can't even be bothered to read a couple bullet points that are neatly spaced and numbered, idk what to tell you...
@@ibidknight ...
Everything is meaningless without God. Post modernism tried to kill God but God is far bigger than all of that. You can't invent an iPhone come up with a scientific theory and say that there is no God! That is a lie from the enemy. The fact the Christianity is still so large in the world tells us that. Yes the faith is declining but that is not because of the lack in belief in God it is the lack of wanting to involve yourself in community anymore. Hebrews 10:25 (read it) Also read Ecclesiastes. This Generation is hopeless because of the new outlook on life and yes because of the screens because the overload on lies from the enemy. It is not that God is not real because when you look into history it is proven time and time again that there is a God and His name is Jesus! (Also Yahweh) People want to act like there is no God and His concept is just something that held us together, but you must all realize that this is a lie! God is our creator! God gives us the greatest love! Jesus did exist! The prophecies were proven and there is no reason to be hopeless! God is GOOD!!!! DONT DOUBT GOD AND HIS PLAN!!! Romans 8:28 says "All things work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to His purposes" DONT LOOSE FAITH! FIGHT THE GOOD FIGHT WIN THE RACE!!!
@@pleasestopcreatingmoresent3328 Boo fucking hoo... "its too long" oh the horror...Just better off watching and listening than trying to read and understand. Your comment really proves of how people become so lazy to read a single simple 7 reasons comment and it takes like at least 4 minutes. You're not reading a 300 reasons comment only 7 pal. But sure, you really took your sweet time to write a comment whining that you don't want to read a comment for 4 minutes and prefer to watch a video that is just all annoying talk. Grow up.
a million standing ovations for you! excellent in every way possible. thank you for this!
This was incredibly well made! The quality is in line with Vox and Bloomberg Shorts, all while being way more grounded from a younger person's perspective. I can't wait for your inevitable success, keep making these sorts of vids!
Thanks for adding the calming section at the end. I really needed it after thinking of the state of the world.
But I'm surprised that climate change wasn't a major topic in this video. Did you just not want to be too depressing? Everyone I know is going through a lot of pain knowing that life will be really tough in a few decades.
If we choose to have children, those children will probably have a really bad life and there's nothing we can do to change that. IME, this perspective is universal among my generational cohort. (I'm 26)
this video sucks literaly climate change, late stage capitalism, collonialism and the feeling that your goverment does not care for you are way bigger issues than "phone bad"
@@kanjonojigoku8644 in order: climate change is a fear tactic to reduce industrial production, late stage capitalism bad, whodafuq is colonizing nowadays, and the government is actively malicious, but phone is still bad.
He writes off climate change as being a contributing factor beginning at this timestamp: th-cam.com/video/c9mvcfVfbio/w-d-xo.html
(this was also the timestamp where I downvoted the video)
It's obviously a gigantic factor, it's just that he's pretending it isn't a gigantic factor.
you shouldn't think of climate change in this way, like some inevitable disaster that we are 100% sure is gonna destroy earth. It's pointless, people like to pretend we know the future when in reality nobody does. Yes, we can predict events to a certain degree but it's not 100% accurate every single time. People have been going on and on about the world dying for decades yet here we are, still living on earth. Let's not get too ahead of ourselves. You, I , and the smartest most knowledgeable person on earth will still never know what exactly the future holds or when exactly we all die. That just isn't knowledge we have. People have to quit acting like we know the future. It might get worse, it might get better.
climate change lmao
Do you think the climate 400 years ago was the same as today?
Or that it will impact you more in 10 years, than the bs goverment laws which will use it as an excuse? (eco-timer on showers, water limit for personal consumption, unable to use it for herds or crops without license)
Phone bad, technology brings slavery, capitalism wants to extract your lifeforce (money = solidified lifeforce), yet you care about climate change which is the only thing you cannot influence at all
This video is truly a masterpiece, thanks for making it!
thanks for the video really appreciate it . i am having some bad thoughts and feeling hopeless that we are alone in this universe and by watching your video i just can't explain it but it is amazing
Gen-z got screwed, as a millennial I didn't think it was going to get worse than what happened to us.
I'm sorry you guys, I really do feel bad for you.
Oh we got screwed as well, buddy. Don't ever forget that.
@@LogiTech-qi2ug More than Millennials for sure. If gen-x'ers played their cards right.
Millennials robbed Gen-X, then had the nerve to call themselves "self-made success stories."
@@GreggyMcfly You misread their comment. They are a millennial and see that Gen Z got screwed as well
Really? Perhaps you should acquaint yourself with history. If you were born in the early 1900s or before-that is, for most of humanity's history-you would had roughly a 50% chance of making it to your fifth birthday. That also means anyone who was lucky enough to be a mother or a father would have lost almost 50% of their children. Life expectancy was well below 45 years of age. Health was always bad, with constant chronic infections, rotten teeth, nonexistent hygiene, malnutrition, etc. You would have worked from sunrise to sunset in grueling physical labor. You would have little to no wealth, and no chance of ever developing wealth. You would have been illiterate. You would have always been exhausted and tired and sick. And yet, our ancestors struggled on against all the brutal cruel odds, built families, built communities, built nations, discovered the world, and just accepted the fact that life was tough, brutal, cruel, and unfair. They just got on with living and enjoying life the best they could. You Gen Z and milennials have the easiest and most coddled existence ever. And that's the problem. You don't struggle for anything. You are all self-centered nihilistic narcissists: "O, woe is me! My life is so tough with all these modern luxuries and conveniences! How can I possibly live like this!" Grow up, you spoiled br@ts.
This video is so underrated and deserves more views of what it’s worth in explaining the most complex generation in human history.
CNN and FOX need to air this video with no editing. every night for a year.
What you said in “Be here now” I believe is why for a group of millennials and Gen Z have stuck so doggedly to the idea and principle that Unus Annus laid out. That you can do anything, strive for anything, but even with that fire under, remember, nothing is forever, so this moment is so important, just as important as striving. That this came out only two days before the 3rd year anniversary of Unus Annus is… so fitting.
The clock is ticking, but that is okay, it will always be ticking, and that doesn’t mean that we must fear it.
Momento mori.
I hear the clock.
"be here now" was the tag line for Erhard Seminars Training (EST) in the 80's. still true as Ameer points out.
Extremely well made and beautiful video, great job Ameer!! As someone almost 30 now, I feel like I learned most of what you said the hard way with experience. The moment it all clicked for me is when I decided to change my life around by improving myself everyday and aiming to be better. It's the only way I was able to get myself out of depression. Nowadays I always get the pressure and anxiety of performing at the highest level for myself and for my personal growth, but it's what keeps me motivated at the same time. The only thing that changes with aging is that I'm able to set myself goals in the long term way more than I could before. Hope everyone that sees this know that you will eventually see light in this life, that one day it will make sense and that you will meet someone you love more than anything. I used to be extremely lonely, but it made me learn about myself. Be proud of yourself and every little things you're achieving that you never thought you would before. Like Ameer said in this video, focus on what you can change, at the end of the day you're just human and your only tools are your body and your mind.
This video avoids discussing the elephant in the room-- the increasing state of poverty and personal debt. Most individuals today are stuck in debt, on low salaries which do not allow them to purchase a humble home; meditation and mindful dogma (although in vogue) will do nothing to solve our economic woes. In fact, it does the opposite, it encourages them to accept the status quo, rather than complaining or demanding a fairer economic system from our government, banks and corporations. The 'just meditate and you'll be fine' is only a method to cope in the present, not to enact change toward the future. Gen Z and everyone who cares about the future will need to demand better from our institutionalized powers. Encouraging young people to do nothing to improve their economic situation is effectively a way of mentally neutering them away from a solution -- Thus, the cycle of quiet quitting.
Thank you so much for this video!
I guess we all can see how social media builds the reality where you cannot just live your live and always have to have an opinion about everything and everyone. And otherwise you're "soulless", you're a monster, people are dying here, the city is burning there etc.
But it's too much. So I hope we all care about ourselves more because the best we can do for ourselves - is just lice our lives and improve ourselves 🤍
This is your best work so far man, holy crap what an incredible video
Thanks so much! You've been here from the start, and I really am grateful you've stuck around
I have never seen your channel before. I had a shit day today, where I felt so ovewhelmed, and this video was the first thing I got recommended, and man.... your voice is so soothing, your logic logicing, your facts facting, thank you. I will save this video and return to it in the future when I need to. (even though I'm a milennial) Thank you!
Absolutely amazing production and message
Compared to when I was growing up, there was the rise of Facebook, social media, reliance on dating sites and not getting picked with dating and relationships becoming more non-traditional. Plus, there were more phones and computers instead of people going out. And these are some of the things the caused of depression, anti-social demeanor, lack of motivation, hopelessness and all kinds of other negative things that are STILL going on today!! And by the way, we now got A.I.
So, get ready for more problems!!
I can definitely believe this. When i was around 11-17 I grew up in a girls grouphome which is far different from the boys . We were not allowed outside, internet , anything that can connect to the internet , any music that wasnt godly or instrumental , any clothing that isn't godly. To say the less it was strict and it was an awful way to grow up. There was so much conflict at the house. When I would go to school I felt lost I felt more comfortable hanging out with my teachers and couldn't understand anyone's clothing trends or social media . Everyone was so different from me and it made me feel depressed because I couldn't connect. With all of that I don't have a positive outlook on the future I have had front row seats to how awful the US government can be and even then I can tell you I haven't seen it all . Did you know all those unhomed kids are stock piled at certain location . Hundreds upon thousands of kids are group together in trios in office cubicles and basically forgotten its not a lie. I got to spend some time there and the amount of luggage and trash bags filled with kids belongings is sickening . They have a gated parking lot so no one can see .The one in arizona is at least 10 stories tall with almost every floor filled. I am hopeless for the future even unfortunately more scared for my daughter. I believe there is nothing but destruction and control in the future. Sorry about the word vomit ...
this was such well made and high quality video, i loved it
You're the first Gen Z guy for me on TH-cam who gives me hope for the future. With young people like you my kids will can find good rolemodels outside their home. Thank you
I'm old and I get depressed thinking about the future too.
So young and yet so full of insight and wisdom. WTF? This is the best of TH-cam, where master communicators can reach a wide audience.
I'm not going to lie the part where you were showing all of the news headlines at once, one after the other was a bit overwhelming and triggered me.. My god I relate so much to this video.
I am GenX and I see no hope for the future.The way the worldwide economy is going, everyone is being laid off in every industry.
no one talks to each other anymore. whenever I go in public everyone keeps to themselves and pulls out their phone in any situation where a social interaction might happen. there is so much social anxiety and fear. deep down we crave human interaction but don't want to put in the effort to create those bonds.
definitely! I believe we need communities where we can support each other and just have fun
I'm 44 and I have not dated once since 2012 and trying to get women to look in your general direction is an impossibility. A chad I never have been, but dating when I came of age in 1997 to 2012 I experienced a relatively decent degree of success with women and dating with a few dry spells, but all dating ended in 2012. If I had been born in 1999 rather than 1979, I believe I would still be a virgin at 44 in 2043. I can't even imagine how awful it must be for young men today; dating is a rite of passage for teens and the dating game is seriously screwed up for young women and teen girls and virtually nonexistent for young men and teenaged boys. The serious long term mental health and socialising consequences for both the individual and society are not truly going to be felt for some time.
Getting women to look at you is not how you find love, my man,
I honestly thought I was crazy for the longest time. It's really refreshing and motivating to hear someone speaking from practically my exact perspective, and I once again feel that I do maybe have a little bit of hope, and like I'm not actually crazy.
Great video man. I hope you and everyone here make it in life
One of the best and most meaningful 20 minutes i’ve ever spent on youtube. Really really well done for putting all this together, and your thoughts, editing, music and everything!
Really? This is good content ngl but there are waaay better ones that ar actually s-tier
Capitalism has gone into hyperdrive in the last decade, greed has washed away any social contract and i have seen the resulting collective psychopathy become almost universal. Society needs a conscious and i have seen that conscious nearly completely disappear.
Its not capitalism. Capitalism is just an economic systems. We have had capitalism for 200 years, the problem now is the incentive system rewards profitmaking by cost-cutting instead of innovation. When cost-cutting is your goal experienced skilled laborers is viewed as a cost instead of an asset. Look at your leaders you cant even get them to look at 8 years away much less 40 years from now. The political incentives are skewed towards rewarding give-a-ways and tax cuts not long term thinking. The fault does not like in our starts but in ourselves.
This video is really well done. Thanks for this eye opener.